Holiday Post 2018: Traditions, Manners, and Other Miscellany

Welcome to the first of my 2018 Holiday Posts. The academic semester ended for us on Friday, December 14, but I still have to work one more week until Friday, December 21. Meanwhile, the holidays are upon us, and I enjoy taking some time to share a few things to keep my four readers amused during the holiday season. So, let's begin looking at holiday traditions, manners, and other miscellaneous things.

Train and Christmas tree. Image from US Botanical Garden

Trivia

 Let's start with some factoids, figures, and curious things about the holidays. 

• This year holiday sales are expected to top over $1 trillion. Story via Quartz. Yes, that is trillion with  a "t". Because the economy may be bad, but people somehow find money, or credit, to keep spending more and more during the holiday season. By the way, a lot of that will be online shopping. 
• The annual War on Christmas will be in full swing. Via Juanita Jean's.
• Meanwhile, in New Zealand, even the children laugh at Americans this holiday season. Follow the link to see the video and post to find out why they laugh. Via Juanita Jean's.
• Iceland's holiday tradition of giving books is one reason I would love to move there. Via Inc., though this tradition often gets highlighted during this time of year in various places. So, how it goes: "On Christmas Eve, friends and families exchange books -- then spend the evening together curled up reading their new treasure," he writes. "Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I think you'd agree that sounds pretty great." It does sound great. 
• Once again, PNC Bank has their Christmas Price Index, based on the items from the song "12 Days of Christmas." Their website has added some additional things for educators related to the topic too. In addition, National Geographic also has some ideas for teachers based on the CPI. 

The Tree, Decorations, and Other Objects

•  Maybe this year you want to do something different with  the Christmas tree. How about a whiskey themed Christmas tree? Via Flaviar.
• If you prefer a book theme for your Christmas tree, here are some book ornament ideas. Via Book Riot. 
• Then again, you may be at the point where you want to do the least effort for your Christmas decorations or just do not give shit, like these folks. Via Cheezburger.
• If you just plain do not give a hoot or just prefer to be rude, here are some examples of rude tree ornaments. Via Sad and Useless. 
• And to further amuse you, some retail fails when it comes to trying to cash in on the holidays.
• Every Christmas you find some people who need to really, really show off their Christmas lights and make a spectacle of it. This year we got a light display timed to the "Baby Shark" song. Via USA Today, which includes video.

Food and drink 

• Candy? Let's have a look at some of the horrific candy flavors we are getting in 2018. Via USA Today. I honestly do not understand the appeal of "weird" candy flavors like rotisserie chicken, Mac N' Cheese, and pickle. Hey, if the companies are making them, it's probably because they think someone out there will buy them. 
• Eating healthy during the holidays can be a challenge. The U.S. Government, via their Government Book Talk blog, has some resources for healthy eating that may be helpful. 
• A suggestion that being aware of food waste may help you appreciate that  holiday meal better. Via The Conversation. 
• You may need a drink or two to deal with certain family relatives. Or perhaps you just want to have a nice cocktail to celebrate what is good in the holidays. Here then are some ideas for fall and winter cocktails via Drinkhacker.

Wellness/Advice/Tips

You can tell we are living in the Hard Times. As I was compiling stories and links for this post, I found a lot of articles on things like how to minimize holiday drama and how to deal with family and coworkers you probably do not want to deal with but are forced to deal. So in order to help folks out there who may need a few tips for surviving the holidays, these links are for you. 

•  Via Inc., here are some tips on how to avoid boring holiday conversations and some conversation starters. Personally, I favor the strategy of avoiding the workplace holiday party altogether. But if that is not an option for you, this may help you at least pretend that you are being polite. Also, the conversation prompts do have the bonus of being pretty secular and neutral on politics. 
• Barbara Pachter on her blog offers "7 Ways to Avoid Arguments During the Holiday Season." Again, I favor the avoidance tactic. Do not invite into your home people you know will stir shit up nor go into their homes. But if you must be in close contact with someone who just cannot shut up and has to cause an argument, these tips may help you cope or stay out of the line of fire.  Ms. Pachter's first tip is a common one in many of the survival guides I have seen, and it is an important one to help your peace of mind: "Accept what you can influence and what you can’t." I would add to that a piece of advice my mother often gave me: rub on some olive oil, and let  it slide. It means that many things are not worth it so learn to let them go.
  
• This I found a bit amusing: a guide to surviving the holidays with Tarot. It combines things like giving a Tarot deck as a gift to having small Tarot themed elements in your parties. Via Psychic Talk. 
• Inspirational author Colette Baron-Reid also offers her ten tips to dial down drama over the holidays. One of her tips is also to accept what you cannot change. Being a more spiritual person, she may bit more charitable than I might be. 
• Been estranged from a family member for  a while? Some long lost member of the family wants to return to the fold? Via The Conversation, here are some ideas on how to handle it.  
• Via Wise Bread, how to minimize financial stress during the holidays. 
• Coming Out Tarot offers "The Easy Queer Holiday Survival Guide You Need."

Miscellaneous 

Finally, here are a couple of things that do not fall into the categories above.

• Like Christmas movies?  That Artsy Reader Girl offers her list of her favorite ten Christmas movies. Maybe one of these will work for you.
• Want more Christmas movies? Turns out there is a website that keeps track of what is on television when  it comes to Christmas movies and specials. It's Christmas TV Schedule.
• Nerd Much? also has the Christmas movies line up for your TV or streaming if you want to check there.
• One of the things I did during 2018 is watch a few more movies, especially some that are a bit out  of the way so to speak. I have been watching horror films a bit more. So, if you like horror films, and you like them with a Christmas theme, here are a couple of options for ideas on what to watch: 
• Games Radar has their list of best Christmas horror movies. 
• IMBD.com is always a good place to check for lists too. Here is one of their many lists.
• Want a little more adult entertainment in your Christmas movies? XCritic has a small list of 13 Christmas-themed porn films (yea, play on the 12 Days of Christmas plus one). (Warning: the link is very NSFW, so skip if not your thing but check it out otherwise).
• And if the adult movies get you in the mood, Em and Lo have some suggestions for "the 12 Moves of Christmas" so you can get moving and frisky.
• Are you in college, and for some reason you cannot or will not go home for the holidays? If you are stuck in college, well, here are some small ideas via COED on how to celebrate if you are staying on  campus. 
• Maybe in the midst of all the fuss of the holidays you want to take some quiet time. Via Pen Company, here are some journaling prompts you can try out. I may try out some myself.